Primordial Era: Refusing Hongjun's path to sainthood, I attained the Dao of Hunyuan.

Chapter 112 Different Paths

"What difference is there between my elder brother's Path of Forgetfulness and the Path of Heartlessness?" Yuanshi thought to himself, his face contorted with struggle.

He wasn't actually unable to understand Lao Tzu's ruthless philosophy; he simply didn't dare, fearing he would become like Lao Tzu.

Is that still who I am? If I have no emotions, no feelings, and no desires, what's the point of becoming a saint?

……

Longevity Hill, Wuzhuang Temple.

It was several days after the great battle when suddenly a figure appeared at the foot of the mountain.

The Taoist priest, with a faint smile on his face, walked leisurely up the mountain until he reached the Wuzhuang Temple.

At the entrance of the temple, someone was already waiting. It was Kong Xuan. When Kong Xuan saw the Taoist, he quickly bowed and said, "Disciple greets Master."

"Why is the teacher here?"

This Taoist priest, who turned out to be Xuanhuang, looked at Kong Xuan and nodded, saying, "Your cultivation has improved again; you have a good chance of attaining enlightenment in the future."

"But forging your own path is extremely difficult. From now on, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you much. You'll have to rely on yourself."

"This disciple understands," Kong Xuan quickly replied.

"Um."

Xuanhuang nodded again, but walked ahead towards Wuzhuang Temple, saying as he went, "If I hadn't come, your Uncle-Master would probably have come looking for me."

Kong Xuan knew what was going on, and couldn't help but smile, saying, "That's true, my uncle has been talking about you, teacher, these past few days."

"Oh?"

Xuanhuang asked, "What did he say about me?"

Kong Xuan hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "My master said that you, teacher, are heartless. You ran away on your own, deliberately lured people here, and even damaged his ginseng fruit tree. My master is still in the backyard, messing with his ginseng fruit tree. He's heartbroken."

"fine."

Xuanhuang listened without taking it seriously, saying, "His ginseng fruit tree was damaged by the Tai Chi diagram, but Senior Brother's Tai Chi is just Yin-Yang Tai Chi, which I can resolve."

Kong Xuan was relieved to hear this.

After a while, the two finally arrived at the backyard. As soon as they entered the yard, they saw Zhen Yuanzi carefully applying the Three Lights Divine Water to the ginseng fruit tree.

"Cough cough."

Kong Xuan coughed lightly and tactfully walked to the side; what happened next was none of his business.

Zhen Yuanzi slowly stopped, turned to look at Xuanhuang, and snorted, "You've come?"

Xuanhuang smiled and said, "Shouldn't I have come?"

Seeing that Zhen Yuanzi seemed about to lose his temper, he quickly added, "Alright, alright, it was my fault. I shouldn't have brought trouble to you."

"But aren't I here to clean up the mess now? Don't worry, I'll definitely heal your ginseng fruit tree."

Zhen Yuanzi remained silent and walked to the side.

Xuanhuang stepped forward and looked at the ginseng fruit tree. The ginseng fruit tree was truly pitiful, completely lacking its former glory.

The tree trunk was covered with scratches, and within these scratches, faint traces of black and white energy could be seen drifting and swirling, like a lingering, indelible mark.

Even if Zhen Yuanzi dissolved the ginseng fruit in the Three Lights Divine Water and applied it to the ginseng fruit tree, it would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.

After all, Zhen Yuanzi's Three Lights Divine Water was not much, and it was completely insufficient for the injury to the Ginseng Fruit Tree.

Xuanhuang watched for a while, then suddenly grabbed a bamboo staff and pointed it at the ginseng fruit tree.

Suddenly, streaks of black and white energy flew out from the countless scratches on the ginseng fruit tree.

It was as if swallows were returning to their nests.

It was absorbed into the bamboo staff. And without these black and white energies, the ginseng fruit tree emitted a faint green light.

Those scratches, however, healed quickly on their own.

Seeing this, Zhen Yuanzi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Although Senior Brother's Path of Forgetfulness has gone astray, its power is actually several times more ferocious than my Path of Three Corpses."

"If it weren't for you, it would have taken me hundreds of years to clear it myself, and it would have damaged the very essence of this precious tree."

Xuanhuang nodded and said, "Actually, it's not a wrong path; it's just that everyone has a different understanding of the Dao."

"Sentiment is the Way, but is indifference not the Way? Sentiment and indifference are both the Way, and forgetting feelings is also the Way."

Upon hearing Xuanhuang's words, Zhen Yuanzi pondered for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "It was I who was narrow-minded."

"I thought my understanding was correct, but now that you've said it, I finally understand."

"Indeed, everyone has their own path, and everyone's understanding of the path is different. I cultivate compassion, while he cultivates indifference. Compassion and indifference are both ultimately about emotions. One has, and the other does not. But the Taiqing forgets emotions, which is actually more profound. He is neither compassionate nor completely indifferent, but lies between having and not having."

Zhen Yuanzi kept muttering to himself, but he seemed to have gained some insight.

His Three Corpses Dao was actually quite profound; in Xuanhuang's view, it was far more powerful than Laozi's Dao of Forgetfulness.

After all, Hongjun is an example.

This is the most authentic method of severing the three corpses, which involves using the sentient to control the insentient. Only those with great love in their hearts can achieve this.

However, Lao Tzu's method of forgetting emotions is indeed profound, existing between having feelings and being devoid of them, and it has its own power.

Xuanhuang was not in a hurry and quietly waited for Zhenyuanzi to wake up.

After a long while, Zhen Yuanzi finally came to his senses, looked at Xuanhuang, and said, "Speak, what else did you come here for?"

Xuanhuang laughed and said, "How did you know I had something to do?"

"I think it's impossible that you came here just to heal my ginseng fruit tree; there must be something else going on," Zhen Yuanzi said.

"hehe."

Xuanhuang smiled and said, "That's not entirely true. Healing your ginseng fruit tree is one of the reasons."

"Secondly, you've lured all my disciples away. As their teacher, I should at least come over, shouldn't I?"

Zhen Yuanzi nodded.

Xuanhuang then beckoned Kong Xuan over and instructed him, "You have now achieved some success in your cultivation and can be considered to have graduated. Since your uncle is willing to help you and make you his vice leader, you should wholeheartedly assist him."

"If you encounter any trouble, you can come back to me. If I am able, I can still help you."

"Your disciple will follow your teachings," Kong Xuan said gratefully.

After giving instructions to Kong Xuan, Xuanhuang turned to Zhen Yuanzi and said, "How was it? I've treated you quite well, haven't I?"

Zhen Yuanzi said irritably, "Come on, it's not like I owe you anything. Is there anything else? If not, I don't have time to chat with you. I need to go into seclusion."

"etc."

Xuanhuang quickly replied, "There really is one last thing."

"explain."

"Um."

Xuanhuang said, "I plan to move my Daoist temple into the Chaos Realm. Do you want to come along?"

"With you?"

Zhen Yuanzi asked.

Xuanhuang nodded.

"Then let's forget about it."

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuanzi directly refused, saying, "Don't think I don't know; you must have gone to Xikunlun earlier."

"And since you're moving your dojo, you're obviously planning to elope with Fellow Daoist Xihua. Why are you dragging me into this? Are you even human?"

"Cough cough."

Xuanhuang coughed a few times and changed the subject, saying, "Alright, if you don't want to go, then don't go. Anyway, you still need to establish a sect, so it's fine for you to stay in the prehistoric world."

"I have other matters to attend to, so I won't disturb you any longer. You should go into seclusion."

Xuanhuang winked at Kong Xuan, who understood and said, "Teacher, I'll see you off."

So, under Kong Xuan's cover, Xuanhuang left Wuzhuang Temple. Zhen Yuanzi, however, was both amused and exasperated, shaking his head repeatedly.

(End of this chapter)